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Monday, November 22, 2010

Snowy Pine Cone Christmas Ornaments

I'm in the final push of the semester at school. In the next 10 days I'll be coming up with about 35 pages of reports and papers. Should be a good time. In the meantime, I hit a wedding in Florida this weekend, finished my tutorial for Haul Out the Holly (no sneak peeks, but I'll let you know what day it will be showing), and came up with this quick and easy Christmas ornament.

Supplies:

a pile of pine cones (you can gather them or buy a bag)

ornament hooks

white spray paint

hot glue gun

Now I have to admit, this isn't an original idea, per se. The year before my grandfather passed, he went out into our backyard and gathered up a bunch of pine cones. Then he attached bent paper clips to them and strung them up on a string in our basement. He spray painted the tops white. I still remember them hanging there. Apparently, crafting must run in the family. A day later he hung them on our Christmas tree. They look phenomenal, but that was almost two decades ago now and the ones we have left are a little worse for wear. So I made another batch and am sharing them with you here.

The first step is to bend one end of the hooks into a flat little shape, almost like a "c," and then hot glue them to the tops of the pine cones. You'll need to hold the hook there for a moment until the glue hardens a bit.

Do that for all of your pine cones and then string them on a line of some kind once they're totally dry.

Now just spray the tops with the white spray paint. You can get the most natural result by spraying all of the pine cones from directly above. You don't want to cover them entirely... just make them look like the snow fell on top of them.

And that's it!

I would have loved to include a picture of them on my tree, but as a rule I don't put mine out before the day after Thanksgiving. But I really love having a bunch of the same ornament to hang all over the tree amidst all the other ornaments because it really helps give it a more cohesive look. And these go with just about any tree decor because they look so natural. Enjoy!

I'll be linking this up to all the fab parties under my Link Party tab, including Met Monday!

Guess what - even my husband just said your ornaments look great! That means I'll have to try it. And even if the cat kicks one of those ornaments around - she can't hurt herself with tiny pieces of glass or so. Thanks for sharing !!!

These pinecones are fabulous, Cecily! Isn't it wonderful that you are doing the same craft that your grandfather did? What a wonderful Christmas tradition. I'm an Illinois gal myself, though right across the river from St. Louis. I think you're closer to Chicago? Thank you for inspiring me with this family craft and linking to the Boardwalk Bragfest to inspire others, as well.

What a sweet way to remember your grandpa. :) I love this project, I can't wait to make some for my tree! (Which I also refuse to put up until the day after Thanksgiving.)Amie @ http://www.kittycatsandairplanes.blogspot.com/

so beautiful! i saw your post on blue cricket design's linky party and wanted to share it on my blog, she's crafty...happy holidays!http://crafty.littlerockmamas.com/index.php/2010/11/26/25-crafts-of-christmas-nos-5-and-6/

I would like to let you know that my Zibeline Knits' shop at Etsy.com is having a Sock Yarn Sale on all hand dyed sock yarn through Christmas. If you shop today, you can also use the coupon code BLACKFRIDAY15 to save an additional 15% off of your total order.

Greetings! Oh I love these! And I also the adorable and touching story of your grandfather doing these years ago! What a lovely thing to recreate. When your boy is a bigger, you will have to do it again wih him so that he can have the same great memories you had of when you were little. Thanks for sharing.Best,Gloria